Pioneer BDP-09FD Bu-ray Disc player (Sound and Vision June/July/August 2009 review)

[HDTV1080P]

Pioneer BDP-09FD Blu-ray Disc player (Sound and Vision June/July/August 2009 review)

(Sound and Vision Certified and recommended)

The Pioneer BDP-09FD only real negatives is slow power up, slower load times, and slower navigation compared to the PS3 and other BLU-RAY players. The picture quality, sound quality, and build quality are excellent (Some magazine reviews mention that the BDP-09FD is the best in build quality and analog video output quality compared to any other BLU-RAY player). The CD audio section matches or beats the quality of many high-end CD players. The Pioneer also has 4 GB of built in memory for BD-LIVE and two HDMI outputs (I know of no other standalone BLU-RAY player that offers 4GB of built in memory and two HDMI outputs). If Pioneer on future BLU-RAY models would offer Super Audio CD playback, DVD-Audio playback, faster load times, faster navigation, and faster power on the player would be close to perfect. List price $2,200.


A few select quotes from page 78 and 79 of the June/July/August Sound and Vision magazine

Plus
"Extensive, high-quality picture adjustments"
"Flawless DVD upconversion"
"Excellent multichannel analog-audio performance"
"Flexible setup options"

Minus
"Expensive!"
"Slow to power up and load discs"

"Compared with other recent Blu-ray players, the Pioneer's start-up routine was on the sluggish side: About 25 seconds passed before its disc tray would open up and accept discs after I pressed the Power button."

"It took about the same amount of time for regular (non-BD-Live) Blu-ray Discs to load up and display an image onscreen, while more feature-packed titles took a minute or longer to get to the old, familiar FBI warning screen."

"The player also has two HDMI 1.3 connections - an arrangement that lets you do exotic things like send video directly to a TV or projector (along with 2-channel PCM audio) through the Main HDMI jack while rout-ing multichannel soundtracks separately to an A/V receiver or processor over the Sub HDMI connection."

"Bottom Line"

"Pioneer's Elite BDP-09FD truly is a statement piece: a player that offers stunning audio and video performance and is built to withstand a nuclear blast. Its dual HDMI outputs, high-end analog-audio section, and numerous adjustments for fine-tuning picture and sound make it the perfect match for no-holds barred home theater systems. The one stumbling block here - and it's big one if you need to watch your expenses - is price. You can find Blu-ray Disc players out there for a few hundred bucks that provide many of the same features as the BDP-09FD and come close to rivaling its performance in most areas. But if A/V quality is your primary thing and money is no object, then Pioneer has your player."

LINK TO COMPLETE ARTICLE
http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/hd-...sc-player.html